England decided to play in the 1950 World Cup held in Brazil, after sitting out for the first three World Cup tournaments. In a group play, they were matched up with a lowly United States squad and had entered the tournament as one of the favorites. In one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history, the United States prevailed, 1-0, with the result being such a shocker that the New York Times thought the victory was a hoax and didn’t even run the story.

In this game, England will again be the favorite. England has been unstoppable, since failing to qualify for Euro 2008. They outscored their opponents by 28 goals in UEFA qualifying and are 9-0-1 since then.

In Group C, the United States is the consensus number 2. Over the past year, they have played in fairly significant games, defeating Spain, the number 2 team in the world according to FIFA, by a score of 2-0 in the Confederations Cup. They followed that up with an impressive game against FIFA’s number 1 team, Brazil, holding a 2-0 lead at halftime before losing.

With regards to advancing to the next round, a loss for either team would not spell doom. Algeria and Slovenia, the other two favorite World Cup betting teams in Group C, do not pose a great threat and England or the USA will be favored against them.

Forward Wayne Rooney leads the team. With 26 goals in the Premier League, the striker was placed second. The USA is led by midfielder Landon Donovan, who played very well while on loan with Everton of the Premier League.

Manchester United always has the big target on its back, but that target is even larger this season. As the defending European champions, Man U finds itself in a dogfight for the Premier League title, trailing Chelsea 45 points to 43. With Arsenal just four points out of first, the championship doesn’t look to be decided any time soon.

The fourth member of England‘s Big Four hasn’t been as successful so far. With only 33 points, Liverpool is fighting just to make the 2010-11 Champions League, trailing Tottenham by four points for the fourth spot. Tottenham isn’t the only club they have to worry about; they need to leap over Aston Villa and Manchester City (both of whom have 35 points) to grab the league’s final Champions League spot.

Chelsea’s defense can be largely credited for getting them atop the table; their league-low 16 goals allowed has also given them the league’s best goal differential. Arsenal leads with 51 goals scored, led by Francesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie’s combined 16 points. With 21 goals allowed, though, the Gunners will need defensive improvement if they want to be champions.

The Premier League’s scoring title has been even more competitive, as Man U’s Wayne Rooney, Chelsea’s Didier Drogba and Tottenham’s Jermain Defoe currently have 14 points each, with Sunderland’s Darren Bent just a point behind them.